I've always had a soft spot for Broncos as well as some of the other somewhat obscure prop a/c of the 60's and 70's that flew on combat missions such as OV-1 Mohawks and Cessna Skymasters. Imagine going to war in a Mixmaster while you know there were Mig-17s and Mig-21s out there looking for a snack...

Notice that the Brits were using the sturdy 'Tripod Mast' design. Eventually the USN adopted it after one of the lattice masts on a US battleship got folded over right down to the deck during a storm. The Japanese also used the tripod but decided to hang everything including the kitchen sink on the masts so superstructures ended up looking like Brazilian mountainside shantytowns (Pagoda Mast).

The Brits adopted the tripod mast early on. It was a standout feature of their battle cruisers in WWI. Beyond the functional/structural aspects of the cage mast, I've never liked how it made our battleships look.

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"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

The Brits adopted the tripod mast early on. It was a standout feature of their battle cruisers in WWI. Beyond the functional/structural aspects of the cage mast, I've never liked how it made our battleships look.

The Brits adopted the tripod mast early on. It was a standout feature of their battle cruisers in WWI. Beyond the functional/structural aspects of the cage mast, I've never liked how it made our battleships look.

Here's an explanation of why the US used cage masts instead of tripods. Weight saving was one reason.